


In Their Multitudes

by onehellanerd



Category: Persona 5
Genre: Fluff, M/M, One Shot, Short One Shot, Shuake Week 2020, goro perspective, i wrote this in an hour and didn't edit so here ya go, royal, tagging is a lot of work
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-17
Updated: 2020-11-17
Packaged: 2021-03-10 04:13:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,250
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27597347
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/onehellanerd/pseuds/onehellanerd
Summary: Goro is OVER this nonsense with Maruki's idealized world bullshit, but he lets Akira convince him that maybe there can be an upside to it.For Tumblr's Shuake Week 2020 day 1 prompt "Stars"
Relationships: Akechi Goro/Kurusu Akira, Akechi Goro/Persona 5 Protagonist
Comments: 1
Kudos: 54
Collections: ShuAke Week 2020





	In Their Multitudes

Goro lags behind Yoshizawa and Akira as they walk through Odaiba, Yoshizawa’s waltzing stride setting the pace. He would never admit it, but the events of the day were rather taxing; tackling a Palace without Joker’s large complement of allies (obnoxious as they are), plus managing Yoshizawa’s tactical incompetence, has not exactly been relaxing, and the Shadows in Maruki’s Palace seem to be harder than most. 

Not to mention - ugh, sure enough, there she goes again. Goro stops completely, pinching the bridge of his nose, and honestly if he has to keep up like this he might end up with a bruise there soon enough. Ahead, Yoshizawa is chirping her praises to Akira, _Wow, Senpai, you’re SO talented, where did you learn all those moves, you’re like some kind of fighting dancer_ \- and Goro breathes deeply, tuning her out to fight the irritation that has been bubbling at the surface all day. Where does Akira find these people, honestly. The day would have been significantly easier - physically and mentally - if it were just the two of them. 

“Goro, I was missing your snark,” remarks the man in question, somewhere to Goro’s left, and he only just manages not to jump when he opens his eyes to see Akira standing at his elbow, gaze atwinkle in typical infuriating Akira fashion. 

“That makes one of you,” Goro says dryly, lowering his hand. Akira’s eyes move to the newly vacated spot above his nose, and Goro wonders idly if his pinching fingers did leave a mark. “Where’s Yoshizawa?”

“She went on home. She’s worried about you, you know.” Akira lifts an eyebrow, his expression suddenly crafty. “I told her I would talk to you.”

“As if you needed an excuse.” Goro rolls his eyes. “She might spend some of that energy being worried about herself, being as _I_ am perfectly capable of taking care of myself.”

“I don’t doubt that,” says Akira mildly. Goro opts not to answer, so Akira does that typical Akira thing where he slouches and tucks his hands into his pockets (not that Goro studies Akira’s habits), but this time Akira tilts his chin up and studies the dark sky. 

“Even the stars are brighter now,” he muses, apropos of nothing, as if Goro cares about the stars. Not when the boy in front of him is so much more interesting than them all. 

“Glad to know that bright stars are more important to you than free will,” Goro snaps back, perhaps a little more harshly than necessary, as if that extra harshness could quell his unbidden thoughts about Akira. Akira sighs and drops his chin, so Goro suddenly has a first row seat to those keen gray eyes, twinkling again with Akira’s insuppressible good humor, and why would Goro even _want_ to look at the stars when he can look at those eyes?

 _Dying has turned me into a sappy romantic,_ he thinks blackly. 

“Don’t be dramatic, Goro. We can appreciate the scenery, even if we don’t necessarily condone it’s cause.” Akira winks and Goro’s breath is snatched away, but he forces an unimpressed glower anyway. 

“Just don’t forget why they are that way. I-The world can’t afford to have you fall for Maruki’s tricks, too.”

This time Akira doesn’t answer, those his expression sobers, and the expression he turns back to the sky is a much more thoughtful one. 

“D’you want to walk ‘round the park with me?” he asks suddenly, and Goro starts.

“Why?” he says, too startled for an eloquent answer. 

“I’d rather spend time with you and the stars than my creepy human cat,” Akira answers, and _that_ smile is dancing on his lips, that mischievous-yet-somehow-sincere one that Goro could never say no to. 

-

They head to Inokashira Park, and they don’t speak much as they wander around, which... Goro doesn't mind. Akira is looking at the stars again, and, sure enough, they do stand out much more against the Tokyo skyline than they reasonably should. The park itself isn’t crowded, exactly, but when the fifth obnoxiously happy couple practically _floats_ by them on the sidewalk, crowding Goro into Akira, Goro actually snarls out loud. 

“You just hate happy people, don’t you,” snickers Akira. But, for the second time that night, he wordlessly acknowledges Goro’s discomfort, in that way that Goro probably isn't supposed to notice but always does anyway, and he takes Goro’s arm and guides him to a bench slightly offset from the path. 

“If they _knew_ what their happiness is costing them - “ Goro is grinding his teeth so hard that he almost missed the sensation of Akira’s hand on his arm. Almost. 

“But they don’t, and so who are we to begrudge them the chance to take advantage of a good situation?” Akira asks, shrugging. “It’s not gonna last long anyhow, might as well let them be happy for now. Anyway - “ and, uh oh, Goro recognizes that expression too - “what do you think your perfect world would be, if Maruki granted your wish?”

“Everyone would leave me alone,” Goro grumbles, rather than admitting that maybe it would be something close to this. “Especially Yoshizawa and your dumb blonde boy toy.”

Akira snorts back a laugh and drives his elbow into Goro’s ribs. “Come _on_ , Goro, I was serious.”

“So was I.” But Akira flutters his lashes and Goro’s glower melts. “I don’t know. I guess Shido would be gone - “ _dead at my hands_ feels a little wrong to say at the moment - “and I would still be doing detective work, just not on TV.” He doesn’t give Akira enough time to respond before he changes tack. “Not that Maruki seems to care, since he apparently decided my only desire is to be alive.” Akira frowns slightly in response to this, and his expression is unusually inscrutable. Goro narrows his eyes, a sudden spark of suspicion hitting him, though what he is suspicious _of_ , he isn’t exactly sure. Time to find out. “Why? What would be your ideal world?”

“Well.” Akira hesitates and scratches the back of his neck, yet another nervous habit that of course Goro has noticed, and his foot taps the ground, and why is he delaying? Goro’s curiosity-mixed-suspicion only rises, but suddenly all of Akira’s nervous motion stops. Akira looks straight at him, lovely gray eyes serious, lips quirked into a small, nervous smile. Goro feels suddenly that a decision has been made. “I think it would be something like this,” Akira says, and he leans in, and suddenly his lips are pressed against Goro’s and they are impossibly soft, and his hands are tangled in Goro’s hair, and -

And just as soon as he had entered Goro’s personal space, he is gone, and he is standing in front of him now. That blush high on Akira’s cheeks is not a reaction Goro has seen before, nor is the giddy smile dancing on his lips. It's kind of adorable, though again, Goro would never admit that. 

“I had fun today,” Akira says with a wink. Then he turns and disappears into the darkness, leaving behind the confused mess named Goro Akechi. 

...

...maybe the reason Goro doesn’t have an “idealized world” is because his survival is part of somebody else’s, he realizes suddenly, and feels like a fool for not guessing that sooner. 

_So… what happens to me when the ideal world is ended?_

Goro groans in mingled frustration and desire. He drops his head to the bench’s backrest and stares up at the sky and… admires the stars.


End file.
